Associated Press
A man with an AK-style rifle pointed the firearm’s muzzle into Donald Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach as the former President was playing a round, prompting the U.S. Secret Service to open fire, according to three law enforcement officials. The former President is safe and unharmed.
The FBI says former President Trump was the subject of “an apparent assassination attempt” at his Florida golf club. U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach.
Two law enforcement officials reported the Republican presidential candidate was golfing Sunday at the same time. No injuries were reported.
The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later taken into custody in a neighboring county, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
An AK-style firearm was recovered near Trump’s golf course, where shots were fired, two officials said no injuries were reported.
The man was unarmed when taken into custody, officials said. Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the suspect on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The incident was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. It occurred roughly two months after Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.
Only a week later, President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, the officials said. There are several areas around the property’s perimeter where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he golfs. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to quickly shelter Trump should a threat arise.
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” alert” detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and occupant description.
Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.
“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody.”
Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.
Routh frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion. In June 2020, he made a post on X directed at then-President Trump to say he would win reelection if he issued an executive order for the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct. That year, he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has since left the party and endorsed Trump.
Snyder told WPTV the suspect “was not armed when we took him out of the car.” Snyder said the man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police. The suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.
“He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.
Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024. Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.
Records show that while living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.
A Justice Department spokesperson said Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the situation and receives regular updates.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office post indicated the suspect was apprehended near Palm City, about a 45-mile drive north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were shut down, the sheriff’s office said.
Max Egusquiza of Palm Beach described the emergency response outside Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.
“From what I saw, five black unmarked SUVs blocked in a grey Mercedes in front of the golf course. There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” he said
Trump is supposed to speak about cryptocurrency live Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He’s expected to do that from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The former President is scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Tuesday for a town hall in Flint, Michigan, with his former Press Secretary, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a campaign rally in New York on Long Island on Wednesday.
At the end of the week, he’s scheduled to attend and address the Israeli-American Council National Summit in Washington, D.C., and on Saturday, he’ll hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.
___
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
64 comments
ScienceBLVR
September 15, 2024 at 5:14 pm
Already fundraising on it- I smell a rat
Word Salad
September 15, 2024 at 5:42 pm
I would say there is a rat at ABC news. I’m almost convinced that Kammy’s team had the debate questions beforehand and rehearsed for such. Back to her word salad sit down in Pennsylvania a few days later.
Michael K
September 15, 2024 at 6:40 pm
Miss Spoke has “dissociative identity disorder.” That’s what describes people who change their names. It’s a mental health condition where you have two or more separate personalities that control your behavior at different times.
Michael K
September 15, 2024 at 6:41 pm
Idiot. You refuse to believe that a woman can go to a debate prepared.
Word Salad
September 15, 2024 at 7:35 pm
Don’t get your panties in a wad. I have said several times that Kammy smoked Trump. Now he f you compare her debate performance to her most recent Pennsylvania one on one it was night and day. She simply can’t think in her feet and produces word salad as she is trying to process what is being asked. It leads one to believe someone at ABC leaked the questions to her staff. It has been done before. I’m sure you remember.
Frankie M.
September 15, 2024 at 9:35 pm
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out the topics they are going to ask about. It does require discipline to stay on message. Something Trump clearly lacks judging by his temperament in campaign speeches & past debates.
rick whitaker
September 15, 2024 at 11:54 pm
WORD SALAD, yeah you’re the same punk’s punk that we all laugh at. grow up maga mark, you little weasel. earl shitty also changes his name a lot. are you and ahole earl friends?
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 10:25 am
And what, pray tell, what questions were asked in this debate that had never been asked in a Presidential debate before?
Of course she had the questions. Trump did too. He should have had them all memorized by now with it being his sixth or seventh, ehhh let’s just call it his “last” debate and all. It’s always some subset of the same set of questions.
Michael K
September 15, 2024 at 6:42 pm
I would put nothing past him. He lost the debate and is losing support.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 10:28 am
What he really needs is to lose his magical ability to convince 47% of US Americans that he won after each and every of his losses.
They scared to death of drag queens and library books but Trump’s the one with the apparent witchcraft going on
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:41 am
You drag queens only read to children.
Not to the homeless
Not for the elderly
Not for the poor.
Only the children.
Why is that?
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 11:58 am
Poors, elderlies, and homelesses are not groups of folks where most all of them need to learn to read.
Children, OTOH, most all of them do need to learn to read, same as they need to learn maths and everything else.
Plus elderlies tend to be MAGAs and would not want drag queens reading to them during their elderly storytime up at the old folks home.
Poors are too busy working 2 or 3 jobs and spending hours on the bus.
Homelesses, I dunno. Are there other groups doing homeless storytimes? Perhaps drag queens could look into that. Can you provide a contact?
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 1:31 pm
So the only reason to read to someone is because they cannot read… The teachers have failed. As per “Dont Say FLA”.
Illiterate Blue cultist.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 11:58 am
Poors, elderlies, and homelesses are not groups of folks where most all of them need to learn to read.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:43 am
Gun control pushers go Coffin Surfing seconds after a shooting. Your point?
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:40 pm
You seem to be saying Trump is fund raising so he can purchase a coffin now that he’s for gun control. Do you even understand that, Billy Rotberg?
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:55 pm
I said “A'”, not the attempted one on Trump.
You seem to lack the mental capacity to comprehend basic English. It’s a well known fact that you gun control pushers go on grave dancing fundraising campaigns every time something happens.
No corpse to fresh is your M.O.
The Sage Elvis [FKA Earl].
September 15, 2024 at 5:20 pm
Good Evening “Dook 4 Brains Lefty Harris Voters”,
Thank God in Heaven Above y’all’s 2nd attempt failed.
All you Dooks are 100% aware what was attempted for “THE SECOND TIME” is your Parties only path to retaining your “PRECIOUS” power over us Sage Patriots…. Y’all make me, The Sage Elvis [FKA Earl], sick because you “Dooks”, one & all are sickos.
Thank you America,
The Sage Elvis [FKA Earl].
rick whitaker
September 15, 2024 at 11:50 pm
earl shitts, nobody gives a damn about you or the filth you spew.
Word Salad
September 15, 2024 at 5:50 pm
So I guess the saying is “you either like Trump to r want to murder him”.
Kamala is Brat 🌴🥥🌴
September 15, 2024 at 7:00 pm
RU having another mental breakdown? Exactly how many different screen names have you generated?….. AND WHY?
Michael K
September 16, 2024 at 7:53 am
She’s a paid troll. Best to ignore.
Tom
September 16, 2024 at 7:22 am
That’s the logical fallacy of the second amendment. Politicians want everyone to have guns right up until they start shooting at them but that cat’s out of the bag, as they say in Springfield. Vance said last week that school shootings were a part of life so we should get used to living with them. Maybe attempted political assassinations are the same. trump definitely has to go but by ballot not bullet.
Word Salad
September 15, 2024 at 5:55 pm
Or you want
PeterH
September 15, 2024 at 6:57 pm
Ryan Wesley Routh, Trump’s assassin number 2 is an unhappy deranged white guy looking for notoriety.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:39 am
The would-be assassin had a Biden sticker on his truck.
Blue Hair.
He also posted on twitter the following:
“Trumps (Campaign) should be MASA…Make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot afford to fail…”
Sorry DEMs, he’s one of you.
Leon Musk
September 16, 2024 at 11:31 am
Don’t be fooled. The sticker was a psyop to get trump’s numbers up.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:13 pm
Use a name brand aluminum foil for your next hat.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:37 pm
To say he’s a Dem is one way to say the USA is a two party system and he strongly regretted his 2016 MAGA vote after Trump took office and did Trump.
“He’s a Dem” LOL keep trying maybe somebody will buy your nonsense from the spin room
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:57 pm
I see facts trigger your tender widdle fee fees.
Seethe more. It’s what you deserve.
SUCKER!!!!
rick whitaker
September 17, 2024 at 9:04 pm
BILLY BOY, look billy boy, nuts are out there, and in florida, most of them are maga. you are pretty stupid, why are you posting so much. isn’t that embarrassing for you to be ridiculed by most everyone? punks like you don’t seem to care that they are making an ass out of themselves.
rick whitaker
September 17, 2024 at 9:09 pm
BILLY BOY, if you believe that shit then you better not bend over to pick up the soap bar in the gym shower. how dumb are you dude?
Yrral
September 15, 2024 at 8:04 pm
Trump never accepted responsibility for people that he expose to harm,their lives are just as important as his,they do not have 24/7 protection from the Secret Service,he as early as today cause harm to Taylor Swift Google Trump Taylor Swift Swift
Alexa is Biased
September 15, 2024 at 9:36 pm
You definitely flunked English and basic writing skills.
rick whitaker
September 15, 2024 at 11:48 pm
MAGA MARK, quit picking on yarrl. what are you a nazi, yes you act like one. a punk bully, mark you are a mess.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:50 am
How do nazis act? They support, gun bans. confiscation, universal background checks and registration. Just like democrats.
Elmo
September 16, 2024 at 11:34 am
Actually, you’ve just described every other first world country in the world. It’s us who are the laughingstock, unfortunately.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:18 pm
“Elmo” Says The USA is a “Laughingstock” because we don’t have 30s Germany gun control.
Blue is the new Nazi party, obviously.
Frankie M.
September 15, 2024 at 9:31 pm
What a blessing for the community! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Alexa is Biased
September 15, 2024 at 9:45 pm
Was it our very own “Rick Whitaker” that was responsible for the attempt on Trump’s life today? Certainly wouldn’t surprise most of us that read this board. 🤣
My Take
September 15, 2024 at 11:11 pm
The list of people who hate Trump is pretty long.
rick whitaker
September 15, 2024 at 11:45 pm
MAGA MARK, i thought it was you until they said the guy supported ukraine, then knew it wasn’t you. anyone that lets russia defeat ukraine is an enemy of mine. yes i would like for trump to drop out for the good of the world. i would use my hands, i don’t do guns. you wouldn’t want to take a mountain trail hike with me for sure. i don’t like dudes like you at all.
Alexa is Biased
September 16, 2024 at 5:34 am
Ha! Ha! I would never, ever, walk in the woods with you. I get that “Deliverance” vibe from from you Rick. Oh and the dislike statement? Ditto.😜
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:25 pm
If you don’t spew the same CACA that Rick does, You are automatically a Trump supporter.
He sees them in cloud formations, floating in alphabet soup and hiding in the closet.
Don’t be like Rick.
rick whitaker
September 17, 2024 at 10:09 pm
MAGA MARK, what the hell is a deliverance vibe. i told you i don’t believe in that jesus bullshit
Word Salad
September 16, 2024 at 6:22 am
Once again not an original thought my head Howler Monkey. Why on earth would you think it would be me as a suspect in the assassination attempt? Makes no sense at all but is par for the course for you. Now go take a hike in the woods.
rick whitaker
September 17, 2024 at 9:24 pm
MAGA MARK , why would i think it was you, because you are a nut case just like billy rot. billy rot gets mad when you call him a maga cultist. he seems about as clueless as you. you could be acting like billy rot though. you like the cosplay it seems. you trolls that change your name weekly are too punkish for me.
Michael K
September 16, 2024 at 2:11 am
There is only one presidential candidate with a long history of inciting violence, and sowing division. His demeaning rhetoric and bigotry is dangerous, and has consequences. Let’s use the ballot box to fire him. Again.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:37 am
You DEMs are dangerous.
rick whitaker
September 17, 2024 at 9:25 pm
BILLY ROT, you nut cases are dangerous.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:36 am
The would-be assassin had a Biden sticker on his truck.
Blue Hair.
He also posted on twitter the following:
“Trumps (Campaign) should be MASA…Make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot afford to fail…”
Sorry DEMs, he’s one of you.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 10:39 am
…According to Laura O. Loomer.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:47 am
According to the New York Post and the screen shots I took from his Twitter that are time stamped. Go pet your unicorn.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:16 pm
Did you screenshot the part where he was a Trump voter who realized his mistake? How about the part where he liked Vivek and Haley for this year’s GOP primary?
Of did your chosen conservative influencers somehow miss everything that didn’t suit their intended influence over you?
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:21 pm
They’re timestamped for some time that occurred after he voted for Trump in 2016 and later expressed his regret for having done that after realizing who and what Trump was. Look harder and elsewhere and you’ll find all that, too.
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 1:00 pm
He
Was
A
Registered
Democrat.
Your feeble attempt at spinning is rather pathetic, as is your Harris promotion technique.
You Democrats are dangerous.
rick whitaker
September 17, 2024 at 9:28 pm
BILLY ROT, go lie to your momma, she might believe you. on second thought, she probably knows damn well she raised a fool.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 10:41 am
Turnip J Truck seems bent on convincing his supporters that assault rifles pose a big risk to him personally. Why would he want to convince his own people of that?
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 10:48 am
What’s an assault rifle?
My guess is his people need them for self defense against you people.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:02 pm
No answer on “Why would he want to convince his own people of that,” I see. Instead, you play stupid.
What’s an assault rifle, durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. How about this definition: You get near a Presdient with a rifle and tyrannical government agents shoot at you, that’s an assault rifle ya got there.
Now that you know what an assault rifle, Why would Trump want to convince his own supporters that those rifles are a bigly risk to him by a lot like nobody’s ever seen before in all of history?
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:16 pm
You didn’t ask me the question
Typical inbred blue cultist response.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:18 pm
“Turnip J Truck seems bent on convincing his supporters that assault rifles pose a big risk to him personally. Why would he want to convince his own people of that?,” right up there still, that did not ask you the question “Why would he want to convince his own people of that?”
How does that work?
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 12:22 pm
“Don’t Say FLA” Is mentally challenged.
Still refuses to answer basic questions.
Typical inbred blue cultist response.
Dont Say FLA
September 16, 2024 at 12:34 pm
We all know who the mentally challenged one is, and you, Billy Rotberg, are his self-proclaimed biggest fanboy arentcha?
Billy Rotberg
September 16, 2024 at 1:03 pm
We all know “Don’t Say FLA” Is deep into PROJECTION and cannot accept the fact that the shooter was a fellow DEMOCRAT.
Comments are closed.